Whirlwind

I took a long weekend to spend some time with LJ, explore the area, visit Seattle, and see the Packers play. We had a good time. I found out that my little bitty place doesn't feel overly small when there are two people in it. I guess my sofa is comfortable to sleep on (or so LJ reported). And sometimes Amtrak doesn't run.

We left for Seattle Saturday morning. We were supposed to go by train. It's the Cascade line--it runs from Vancouver to Portland, Oregon and runs right along the coast. I was pretty excited about it. And then Amtrak called and said the train was broken, so they were shipping us by bus. Bus. BUS. Ugh. But, we got to Seattle earlier than we would have by train, so that was cool.

While waiting for our hotel room, we played tourist. See, when I went to Seattle for ALA Midwinter, I wanted to go to the Space Needle. But Mr. Pants (aka, Kevin) told me that is what tourists did. Uh.... I'm a tourist. So, we took the monorail to the Space Needle. And you know what? There were Packer fans everywhere--all decked out in their green and gold. And when I say everywhere, I mean EVERYwhere.

So, I'm kind of scared of heights. But I still go to the top of tall things as a way to confront my fear. So to the top of the Needle I went. And it was cool.

Space Needle

Downtown Seattle


Mount Baker or Rainer.... I think Baker


Olympic Range

We hit Pike Place Market. Last time I was there it was Saturday morning and very little was open. PantsMan and I had the whole place to ourselves. Not this time. The place was packed from one end to the other.

We ate Greek food. I bought apples. We walked until we were tired... and then we wandered back to the hotel where we pretty much crashed. We eventually had dinner at the Union Square Grill. Very good and yummy.

We had a great view of the city


Seattle at Night

The next day was the Packers game. We put on our jerseys (me, Tauscher, LJ, Driver) and headed out to Qwest Field. We saw lots of Packer fans along the way, we were booed by some Seahawks fans. We wandered Qwest Field a bit and then climbed to the nosebleed section of the upper tier to find our seats. Y'all, I felt like I was sitting on the second to top rung of a ladder. When more people filled the seats, it was better. But when the seats were empty I felt like I was almost vertical.

Warmups

I wasn't sure what it would be like to be part of the opposing side at another game. It wasn't bad. For the most part, the Seahawks fans were cool (unlike Vikings fans). Then there was the fact that there were a crapload of Packers fans there. I mean a crapload. There was a large contingent several sections down from us.

Packers Fans

There were a couple assholes. There were some funny guys--like the guy behind us who would yell "Go Punter Guy" when the Seahawks would punt--usually followed by "You suck Punter Guy."

Players, standing around the field


Actual movement

We sat next to some nice people from Alaska. They were there to watch the game and hang out. The people in front of us stood up for the first quarter of the game. There was some dude wearing his PJs and a stained Packers tshirt who was almost too drunk to function. He mistakenly ended up in our section twice. Each time everyone in our little area were impressed he was able to get back down the stairs without falling.

The game was decent. Both teams were equally mediocre the first half. it was tied 10-10 going into the half. The second half was all Packers. The Seahawks got one touchdown in the fourth quarter. Other than that, all Packers. Two touchdowns and a field goal later, the game was over. After one touchdown I yelled "Brett who?"

First mass exodus after Packers intercepted a Seahawks pass

Empty seats

What I found most interesting was how many Seahawks fans left before the second half. And how many more streamed out of the field when the Packers intercepted a Seahawks pass. By the fourth quarter there were more Packers fan left than Seahawks fans--and we started the Go Pack Go chant and were only mildly booed. And when we left? Groups of Packers fans (drinking, of course) were excited--excited that the Bears had lost to Atlanta. Too bad the Vikings won.

Fru-fru drink at Wild Ginger

By the time we made t back up hill to our hotel room, we were both wiped out. We wandered out for some food at Wild Ginger and called it a night. I was tired and sore.

The next day I had plans to shop and all this stuff, but ended up meeting Mr. Pants for lunch and then parked myself at a coffee shop and read. I was done walking. I can't remember the last time my feet hurt so bad.

I was able to take Amtrak home. On the trip back I got to hear an aging hippie/snowboarder/surfer/professional glass blower give advice to an aspiring hippie/snowboarder/surfer. It was pretty entertaining, really.

So, what did I learn this weekend? I really like Seattle. I mean, I knew that before I moved here, but, seriously. I like Seattle. A whole lot.